Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB) members design and implement a variety of projects to help address youth community needs and elevate the youth voice in the community. Past YOAB projects include hosting panel discussions on youth mental health and GLBTQ harassment, conducting youth surveys and organizing an environmental summit.
Recent YOAB Community Projects
Vote16
A team of YOAB members partnered with Generation Citizen 's Vote16 initiative to explore expanding voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds for city elections in Boulder to increase civic engagement, inspire young people to get involved in our democracy, and create lifelong voters. To contact the Boulder Vote16 team, please email vote16boulder@gmail.com .
MLK Youth Day of Service
Every year, YOAB hosts the Youth Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. More than 150 high school students have completed service projects during our MLK Youth Day of Service since 2015. YOAB members recruited and coordinated with volunteer sites, advertised the service opportunity to youth, and led a reflection activity with each group.
YOAB members worked with the city’s Comprehensive Plan team to make sure that the youth perspective is incorporated into the plan. A team of YOAB members modified the Planning Team’s Future Choices Forum workshop to make it more youth friendly and met with groups of youth at three different high schools to gather their input on what they would like to see at 28th & Arapahoe and the Table Mesa Shopping Center. The team presented their findings to the Planning Department so they could incorporate it into their work on the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan .
Boulder Community Survey
YOAB members adapted the Boulder Community Survey for youth.
Climate Video
Four YOAB members worked with a Climate Fellow in the City’s sustainability department and a videographer from CU to create a video to publicize Boulder’s Climate Commitment. YOAB members developed the ideas, created the storyboards, did the voiceovers and helped with the filming of the video. The video premiered at E-town during Earth Week and will continue to be shown to audiences in Boulder.